MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) Federal officials are suspending Milwaukee’s troubled program for reducing lead in homes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a stop work order Monday. The decision came after HUD reviewed the findings of an investigation detailing problems with the Milwaukee Health Department’s lead poisoning prevention efforts.
That report showed poor documentation of how federal dollars were being spent and whether all the money was being spent within the grant’s guidelines.
“I don’t see this as a permanent stop order,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters after the announcement.
The federal agency conducted a monitoring visit last week.
Next week federal overseers are expected to tell city officials how to get the “hold” lifted.
Mayor Barrett emphasized that there are no reports of lead contamination from the city’s water mains. There are some lead concerns from the laterals that come off the larger water-pipes to serve individual buildings. Most of the lead-abatement work deals with rental properties with old lead-based paint.
The MetroSource news wire contributed to this report.
